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USDA Inspection Reports

The care of animals at the Oregon National Primate Research Center is overseen locally and nationally by a variety of external and internal organizations including the OHSU Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, a university/ public body. The National Institutes of Health requires very high standards in order to obtain and retain federal health research dollars. The primate center also maintains voluntary accreditation that requires an institution to exceed the country's animal welfare laws. However, the most well known form of oversight is the Animal Welfare Act. The act is very lengthy and detailed set of federal guidelines that are updated regularly to ensure that animals in captivity are well cared for. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is responsible for enforcing the Animal Welfare Act.

USDA inspectors visit ONPRC approximately twice a year and sometimes more often. During their visit, they view animals, facilities, food supplies medications and records. In effect, investigators can go wherever they want and see whatever they wish to ensure that the animals at ONPRC are receiving good care. If problems are found, a research institution can be heavily fined and in an extreme case, animals can be confiscated -in-effect closing a research facility down.

Below are Web links to all of the primate center's inspections in the past years. By clicking each link you can see the full report along with background information when necessary.